All roads now lead to the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship for Hayden Wilde after he tuned up for the big one at the Tinman Triathlon in New Zealand on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Kiwi has been in red-hot form in recent weeks, winning the WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos last month, clinching the supertri overall title in NEOM and then roaring to victory at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon in Thailand last weekend.
He continued his preparation for that 70.3 Worlds bid in Taupo next month by coming home first over the Olympic distance at Tinman on Sunday – registering another victory at Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty.
Wilde too good for local rivals
Hayden came out of the water 39 seconds behind leader James Corbett, but then proceeded to take charge of the race on the bike leg as he took control at the front by riding a 54:16 lead compared to 55:01 for Corbett.
Corbett reclaimed the advantage with a speedy T2, gaining 35 seconds on Wilde through transition, but we still had the 10k run to come with the victory up for grabs.
Wilde’s class told once he was out on the run course and he reclaimed the lead from Corbett before stretching away with a 31:43 run to win with 14 seconds to spare in an overall time of 1:144:01.
Taupo next for home favourite
Next up of course Wilde has the small matter of that epic assignment in Taupo in the middle of December, when he steps up in distance to take on some of the world’s best middle-distance stars.
That race will give us a tantalising glimpse of what might be to come in 2025, with Hayden expected to be a big factor on the T100 tour at some stage next year.
De Vet too hot for Tinman field
Hayden’s partner, Belgian star Hanne De Vet, made it a spectacular day for the couple by roaring to a brilliant victory in the Female race. She came home just under six minutes in front of her nearest rival.
Hanne exited the water in front with just a couple of seconds to spare over nearest rival Hannah Knighton, and then proceeded to take complete control with the day’s fastest bike leg (1:00:21) by almost two minutes.
De Vet then clocked 38:09 on the run to stretch further clear for a very comfortable and comprehensive victory.
Tinman Triathlon Results
Sunday November 24, 2024 – Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
Male Overall – 2.5k Swim / 40k Bike / 10k Run
- 1. Hayden Wilde – 1:44:01 (15:30 / 54:16 / 43:31)
- 2. James Corbett – 1:44:15 (14:51 / 55:01 / 32:25)
- 3. Lachlan Haycock – 1:50:21 (15:34 / 58:24 / 34:31)
- 4. Ivan Abele – 1:52:35 (15:33 / 57:30 / 37:38)
- 5. James Matthews – 1:54:28 (16:55 / 1:00:14 / 35:27)
Female Overall – 2.5k Swim / 40k Bike / 10k Run
- 1. Hanne De Vet – 1:56:51 (16:17 / 1:00:21 / 38:09)
- 2. Hannah Knighton – 2:02:39 (16:19 / 1:02:28 / 41:31)
- 3. Lulu Johnson – 2:06:54 (17:11 / 1:08:12 / 39:36)
- 4. Nikkola Matthews – 2:09:30 (19:26 / 1:02:13 / 43:41)
- 5. Aleisha Williams – 2:12:37 (19:58 / 1:05:56 / 44:12)
